Sapphire Anchor: The 25th Hunger Games
by Ticket140
Summary: Welcome to our great nation of Panem, where we are currently celebrating The 25th Hunger Games, or 1st Quarter Quell. A young teen isn't happy to hear that he was betrayed by his own friends and neighbors to participate in these games. What's the cost of survival? But with a mentor like Mags, and with all of the new friends he makes, the odds definitely become in his favor!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Welcome and thank you for reading this story! The story is written in the point of view of Evan Odair, a 14 year old boy from District 4. **

My eyes slowly open as the light of the sizzling sun pours into my eyes. I turn around and look at my clock; 6:00 AM. Man, is it already morning? I barely slept. Well, I better get ready. Today is Reaping Day... Well, it would've been reaping day if it was a regular year. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Capitol's victory against the districts. For this Hunger Games, the districts are voting on the kids who will represent them in the Games.

The voting took place yesterday and today they will announce the results.

I'm not too scared about this; I have a good reputation with pretty much everyone here in District Four. No one will want to send me to these games...right?

District Four. Fishing. It is also a career district. Careers are special tributes who train their entire lives for the Hunger Games, and then they volunteer during the reaping. Training for the games before the actual events is technically illegal, but the Capitol favors us.

You may have noticed that yours truly is from a career district.

But have I been training for the Hunger Games? Of course not! Who likes this sick, twisted, sadistic event, anyway? Apparently my entire district.

When I was young, my father forced me to attend the Hunger Games training camps. It was taught us how to be a merciless killer, strategies on making traps for the other, weaker tributes, and how to guarantee victory. Well, that was too much for me. I then started ditching class, and I still do to this day.

Have I mentioned that I love swimming? It's a really big passion of mine. I do race, I always win. That's what I do this morning. I arrive at the empty beach (empty because it's only barely dawn), change into my swim trunks, and dive in.

_Time for breakfast,_ I say to myself ten minutes later. I head to a large boulder a little off-shore. I lift it, and under it I find my hand-made wooden trident. That's where I always keep it. I search around for some blades of grass, and eventually find enough to make a small net. I stand at the edge of the water, positioning my trident and wait for a catch. I stay like this, catching a few small trouts.

Eventually, I find a huge Melder fish. Melder fish are the trademark of District Four. It is rare for someone to find one by just looking for it. They are one of the most mouthwatering and delicious fish in the world. I take a little preparation. I make sure my trident is ready and make the final knots on my net.

At the exact moment I was going to release the trident, I feel a powerful shove on my back and I collapse into the water. I try to grab the Melder with my bare hands, but it swims away. I jolt my head around, ready to strike my trident at the attacker. Only it's not an attacker. It's my best friend Dallas Cresta. "What were you going to do with that thing of beauty, eat it?" My brown-haired, light skinned friend says. "Common, Dally! It wasn't funny." I snap back.

We both always swim and race together. We plan to continue to swim and enjoy ourselves while we can before the tribute-picking ceremony. After a few hours of swimming and diving, we both sit on the sand of the beach to dry off in the sun.

"Imagine Trixie Trunkles on the podium, calling out this year's tributes?"  
He asks me.  
Trixie Trunkles is District Four's escort. Every year, she comes from the Capitol to randomly select that year's tributes. Last night, she and the rest of the District Four team counted the votes. She will announce the lucky tribute today.  
I just hope that she doesn't say my name, "Evan Odair" on that stage. I'm not ready to be a tribute.  
"Speaking of which, we better go get ready." I respond. Nodding in agreement, we both put out stuff back under our secret rock and head home. I take a look up into the sky. The sun is positioned at around 10:45. We have to be at the square by Noon.


	2. My life and family here in District 4

I live in an area of District Four called the Mariton Villiage. It's not the wealthiest part of District Four, but it's home. After entering my house, I look around for my parents and brother, but no one's home. My older brother is named Tony. He is twenty years old, but when he was 16 he tried to volunteer. However, a more experienced career had called the position first, and the career was able to claim it. This career won the 21st Hunger Games, and is the most recent victor of District 4. His name is Baylen Merit. He was a fierce career tribute, and he won his games when the arena started letting out the Deoxinis gas. This gas literally disintegrates the oxygen from the air. Baylen, after always holding his breath and swimming, became immune to the gas and his lungs were able to handle it. He won by outlasting the other tributes during this time. Unfortunately, President snow didn't take this too lightly. He saw it as cheating and having an unfair advantage. He ordered them to insert Baylen into a gassing chamber. The chamber released these gasses, which weakened Baylen's lungs so much, that now he has a severe case of asthma. He can't go underwater for 5 seconds without almost drowning. I always see him with an inhaler in his hands. Always.

My father's the captain of a ship, and every month this ship goes all around Panem delivering fish to the districts. My mother works at a place where they ship and process fish. Whenever I'm bored, I'd go out and fish and bring my catch to my mother at her job. Her boss would pay me something, depending on the fish's value. Tony works as a lifeguard of the beach Dally and I hang out at. He makes many rescues on a daily basis. He's the one who taught me how to swim. My mother and brother asked their bosses if they could leave work early, so that they can attend the reaping. I have a really good bond with my mother and Tony. Yes, Tony was a potential career tribute, but he loves me and is always there for me.

Whenever Tony's working as a lifeguard on the beach, he wears this sapphire necklace. The necklace has a pendant of an anchor. The anchor has two tridents crossing over each other in an "X" shape. Very small on the anchor, the number "4" is engraved. This necklace is very special to Tony. He can always be seen wearing it. I try to get him to let me wear it to impress my friends, but he always tells me that he can never be away from it, and how it means so much to him.

My mother loves me as much as Tony; She wouldn't want to harm me. As for my father, well, I don't really want to talk about him right now.

I turn on the stove and start cooking the small fish I caught at the beach. While they are cooking, I go and take a quick shower. After coming out and getting dressed into my 'reaping' clothes, the fish are only a little overcooked, but they're still good anyway. As I'm finishing my final bites, I notice the clock ticking. I'm due at the Square in half an hour, but I think that it's good to get there early. So at this time I decide just to head out.

I arrived at the clock where I was supposed to meet Dally. I'm early, so he wasn't there yet. That's fine with me. As I take in my surroundings, I notice a ton of men leaving the harbor. They are all wearing sailor outfits, so I assume that these are the fisherman coming home early from the harbor. On reaping day, they get let out early so that they can attend the reaping. I turn my head, and I see the place where my mother works. A bunch of young girls my age were leaving there, since their names were also on the 25th Hunger Games nominee list. And then I see her. Long silk, golden hair. Eyes like the sea. The most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on. Rosalinda Florence. She also lives in Mariton Villiage, except that she lives further area from my house. She is fourteen, just like I am. Like all fourteen year olds, she has to report to the Square and await the results of the voting. If this was a regular year, I would've asked her out by now. But since we both have a low chance of getting picked, I'll just wait until after the Games. Whenever I get near her, my stomach eats me alive. It's like the only language I know is gibberish when I get near her. But deep down, she'll never look at me. She likes guys who are muscular and brawny; guys who become career tributes. Like Baylen Merit. Ever since he got home from the Capitol, all of District 4's girls have fallen in love with him. Why? I don't know. Maybe it's his muscles? Maybe it's his former ability to swim? Is it his strength and amazing fighting skills? Is it because he's a VICTOR? That, I'll never know. The only way she'll ever notice me is if she sees me wearing Tony's pedant around my neck.

Rosalinda walks on by. She doesn't even see me.

"A beauty like that will never want you if you stare at her like a meal." I jump back at the voice, only to realize that it's Dally. "Happy hunger Games" he says in a thick, Capitol Accent. I always find a smile on my face when he does things like that. "And may the odds be ever in your favor!" I reply in the same accent.

"Let's get to the square, Evan." He says.  
We arrive at the front of District Four's Justice Building at about ten to noon. There are already a few hundred teens lined up by age. Another hundred are walking in. We walk up to the people signing us in. Are they still pricking our fingers? I thought they only did that at reapings. They're probably just doing it to see who and who doesn't show up. I hand the lady my finger, and she pricks it with a needle. She then presses my finger against the paper. She scans the blood, and on the scanner the name "ODAIR, EVAN" and "AGE 14" appears. The lady tells me to go in the fences, where we are being divided by age. Dally comes behind me. We both stand in the 14 year old sector.


	3. The Moment of Truth

After a while, Mayor Pluritch comes on stage.  
"Hello everybody. Welcome to the "reaping" of District 4 for the 25th annual Hunger Games. "Without further ado, may I present your most recent victors. Baylen Merit."  
Baylen came huffing and puffing up the stairs to the stage and sat down on a chair. "And Mags Jolyn." Mags is a 30-year old victor from 4. She won her Hunger Games like 15 years ago. I'm not exactly sure how she won, but I presume that she was a career tribute, since she was from here.  
The Mayor then said into the microphone "And please welcome District Four's escort,Trixie Trunkles!" Trixie came out, wearing a huge, puffy Aqua-colored wig and dress. She was wearing a lot of blue make-up. In her thick Capitol accent, she says "Welcome! Welcome all! This year we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Hunger Games! This year will be very special! Now, before we announce the selected tributes from district Four, we'd like to present a very special film, brought to you by the Capitol!"  
At that moment, a movie showing the history of Panem, the Dark Days, and the Hunger Games was shown. After it was done, Trixie said the suspenseful words. "Now, the time has come to reveal the tribute selected by voting! Like always, ladies first." Trixie pulls out a gold key from her pocket, and uses it to unlock a small treasure chest that was lying on the podium. From the chest, she pulled out an envelope with "DISTRICT 4 FEMALE" written in big, gold letters. She opens the envelope.

"Zelda Farore!"

A tall girl from the seventeen-year-old section steps out. After looking at her face, I can instantly tell that's she's a career. With a smirk on her face, she heads up to the stage. I look over at Rosalinda. She seems relived that it's not her.

"And now, for the boy tribute!"  
Trixie picks up another envelope from the chest. Like the other one, it had written in big gold letters "DISTRICT 4 MALE". She opens it, walks up to the microphone, and says the name.

"Evan Odair!"


	4. Saying Good-bye

What did she say? No, she didn't say what I thought she said, did she? It could not of been that name... It's obviously just a mistake, right?

"Where are you, Evan?"

Could it have been? No... Please... It can't be...

"Evan Odair?"

Yes. It is. How could it be? How could I have gotten the most votes in District Four? Who would want poor little me to be in the Hunger Games? I feel my legs start shaking. Tears are in my eyes. I'm going to be a tribute this year.

Suddenly, Dallas throws me a huge hug, and starts sobbing onto me. "Just wanted you to know that you're my best friend, Evan." This grabs people's attention. Peacekeepers, 5, 6, of them come and drag me towards the stage. Was I fighting back? Yes. Yes I was. I tried my hardest to scream and kick my way out of the peacekeepers' iron-gripped hands. I fail. I eventually find myself on the stage. One of the Peacekeepers puts a needle into my arm, which makes me calm down.  
Trixie then says "Our tributes from District Four! Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Well, they certainly weren't in mine.  
Trixie tells me and Zelda to shake hands. Zelda gives me an intimidating look, and then reaches out for my hand. I've done all I could do. I shake her hand and accepted the fact that I was sentenced by my own friends and neighbors to the fight in the Hunger Games.

After that ordeal, we are escorted by our escort into the Justice Building. They direct us into the rooms in which we say our good-byes to our loved ones. I stay there, releasing the rest of my tears, waiting for someone to come.

I hear the door creak open, and footsteps. I turn around, and see my mother and brother, Tony. Tony was still in his life-guard clothing, wearing his sapphire anchor necklace. My mother was still wearing her cooking apron. My mother gives me a hug, and tells me to do my best in that arena. "Someday, I can tell," she says to me. "There will be another rebellion. And this time, we are going to win. Soon this will be all over." I then turn to Tony. I notice that his eyes were red. He says in a broken, trembling voice, "I'm here for you, man. I will always be there for you."

I then give him a huge hug. "You're the best big brother ever." I tell him. "Listen," he tells me while wiping tears from his eyes. "I want you to have this. To remember everyone back home while you're away." He reaches his hands behind his neck, takes off his anchor necklace, and puts it around my neck. "Be strong, you promise me, little bro? And hopefully you can come back home."

"Thank you, Tony. I will try."

Just then the door slams open. The Peacekeeper walks in and directs my mother and Tony out. I'm left in silence again. I close my fingers around the anchor pendant. A piece of my home will be with me, at least.

Someone else walks in the door. Dallas Cresta.  
I embrace my best friend in another hug, and I tell him that being his friend the past few years was the best. He says that he'll never forget the times we had together, and that he hopes that I can come home soon. When he leaves, I figure that there won't be anymore visitors. But there is still one more.

In through the door comes in my father. Well, I wasn't expecting him. So for a minute a so we just look at each other. He towers over me, giving me a grim look. I feel my heart racing by the second, my breath accelerating. I try not to show this when I finally build the courage to say something.  
"It was you, wasn't it?" I say. "You told everyone you knew to vote for me."

"Of course it was. Who else?" He says rather slowly, and kind of dangerously.  
"Why?" I ask.  
His eyes then flare with red. With clenched fists, he bangs his hand on the table in front of me. "DON'T 'WHY' ME, YOU LITTLE BRAT." He snaps. His hand then swings out and lashes me on my face. The force of his hand is so much, that I get sent tumbling to the ground. "Did you really think that you were able to get away with lying to your own father? Answer me!"  
I stay quiet. Anything I say will result in more punishment.  
His arm swoops down at me, and he clenches me by the neck. "How dare anyone call you my son. You don't deserve to be an Odair. Unlike your brother, you are arrogant, selfish, and dumb. I knew you went off, playing with that pathetic friend of yours-"  
"Don't you dare say a word about Dallas!" I snap back.  
"I can say anything I want! I have ultimate power over you! You are nothing!"

He pushes me down to the ground. "If you went to the career training camps, being in the Hunger Games should be no problem. But now, this is your punishment for disobeying your father. Look at you. Small, weak, trembling. The first cannon that sounds in that arena will be for you. Your face will be the first to shine in the sky. You'll make District 12 look like victors. You won't last a second. It'll be better off that way."

"I am _not_ weak!" I shout to him. "If I don't make it out of that arena, I will at least be remembered as a friend! As a brother! As your SON."

"Don't be smart with me! Once your are finished no one will even remember you existed!"  
At that moment a Peacekeeper walks in and escorts my father out.


	5. The Journey to the Capitol

Trixie comes in and tells me that it's time to board the train. She takes me out of the room and out the Justice Building. Zelda is already out. Trixie takes us to the train. Half the District is cheering for us; this is a career district, after all. We board the train and sit down on the passenger seats. "You two just sit down and get comfortable." Says Trixie. "We'll arrive at the Capitol in just a couple of days! Wait here for your Mentors to arrive." After saying that, she leaves and Zelda and I are alone. I turn and look at her; her eyes are blue as the sea, and her hair is partially dyed in a turquoise color.  
Zelda suddenly gets up and turns to me. "Listen carefully." She says. "Between now and the Games, I'm in charge, you hear? You must do everything I tell you to. If you don't, you'll be first to go in that arena." I just stare at her. "Don't you hear me, stupid?" She says rather sassily. "I am not your friend. So while I'm stuck with you, don't talk to me. Don't even look at me. If you make one move, me and the rest of the career pack are going to come eat you alive, you pathetic _shrimp_."

I don't know why she says that. I'm 5'7" tall...

Just then the mentors come in. Baylen and Mags. They sit down in the seats facing us. "Well, what a fresh pair of tributes we have this year," chuckles Baylen, before using yet another inhaler. "We are ready to work with you two," says Mags. "And if there's anything we can do to help you two before the games, please don't hesitate to let us know."

As she finishes that sentence, the train starts to chug. I quickly walk to the window and look out as the train starts accelerating. We start passing by familiar District Four landmarks. The square, the Town Clock, the Mariton Villiage, my house and... The beach. Very faintly, I see two figures standing in the sand. The taller figure has his hand on the smaller figure's shoulder. The smaller figure also has what looks like some sort of stick... That's when I figure out who the two figures are. Tony and Dally. Dally must've gone back to our beach, and got hold of my trident. He must be in some sort of grieving for my participation in the Hunger Games. Tony seems to be trying to console him.

Upon seeing this, my eyes instantly become full of tears. I can barely hold back. As the train passes by the outskirts of District 4, all of my memories with Dally and Tony come rushing back to me. I remember heading to the beach with Tony, every day, and he would teach me how to swim. I quietly start crying to myself. If only I had knew that I was leaving today...  
I then feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around, and I discover that the hand belongs to Mags. "Your family will always be with you, Evan." She tells me. "I know," I reply. "I just hope that I can come home. "

"I know exactly how you feel. I was once a tribute, as well. "

"But weren't you a career?"

"No, I wasn't actually." This came as a surprise to me. "I thought that being a victor from 1,2, and 4 meant being a career, Mags"

"No, my dear. Being a victor doesn't mean being ruthless and full of coldness. Career tributes just wing it; they don't have any brains. Look at ol' Baylen over there, showing off to Zelda. No; Normal tributes like you are smart. Tributes who are like you think things through, and in the end, are the victors." Mags' words really move me. I haven't thought about it that way, before. "How did you win your games?"

Mags tells me the entire story. She was reaped into the 10th Hunger Games. She was a pacifist, just like I am, so she refused to become a career tribute. When the gong rang, she ran as far away from the cornucopia as possible. She was able to create a fish hook out of seaweed and twigs, and was able to gather cobwebs to make a fishing net with the fishhook. With this, she was able to fish and collect a decent amount of food. At one point, the careers invited her to become a part of them. She accepted, with hopes of being able to steal some knowledge to use against them. For a couple of days, she was able to spot some of the career's weaknesses. They never stopped. They just ran around, not noticing any of their surroundings. So when they ran off to track down any other tributes, they asked Mags to guard their camp. During that time, she was able to make several traps. The first trap included a huge net that swung from a tree. The net captures whoever steps on the root of the tree. The net then leaves the poor victim tied up in the tree. The next trap involved a huge hole. Mags was able to dig a huge hole- about fifty feet deep. Once dug, she covered it with one of the sleeping bags. After successfully setting up the traps, all Mags has to do was wait.

When the careers came back, District 1 boy and district 2 girl got caught in the tree. The others fell into the hole. What Mags didn't realize that the tree had a nest of angry tracker jackers. They all burst out and swarmed at the screaming careers. Mags just made a run for it. And then, one by one, the sound of four cannons blasted into the air.  
That's when she remembered; where was her district partner? She went back to where the career tributes camped, and went to the place where they had made their last strike. There, moaning in pain on the ground clenching his stomach, was her district partner. Mags ran to him and held his hand. She sang him a lullaby, until she hears his cannon.

And then the announcement was made. "Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the victor of the 10th annual Hunger Games!"

"So you see, Evan," she told me after she finished her story. "You have to be smarter than the careers. They aren't as scary as you think."

So for the next few days, I just hang around the train. Mags has been giving me good advice for when I enter the arena. As for Baylen, I don't think he really likes me. He seems to favor Zelda, who is a career tribute, like he was. I've tried to ask him advice on how to get girls to like you (for the event that I do see someone cute in the Capitol), but all he said was "Oh the day someone falls in love with you will be day these games are abolished! And when will that happen? NEVER! Ha!" After he said that, well, I've been trying to avoid him.

I talk to Trixie every once and a while. She's actually quite nice; just a bit eccentric. She tells me that I should eat some of the foreign food on the train. I actually do grab some cakes and this dessert called "chocolate ice-cream." The flavor overwhelms my mouth. I've never heard of ice cream before, let alone taste it. I grab and eat at least 50 cones in 20 minutes. So as I'm eating my final cone, Trixie says "look! We are finally here!" I take a look outside the window, and I find out that she's right. So many tall buildings, so many beautiful sights. We have finally arrived at the Capitol.


	6. The Tributes

As we pull up at the station, I notice several things about the Capitol citizens who were cheering for us at the moment. None of them looked even a bit human. Some of them had long ears, some had short ears. Some had huge, puffy and curly hair. Some were bald to the bone. The most significant difference was their skin color. Rainbow people, as far as the eye can see. Red, blue, green, pink, and some colors I've never seen or heard of before. A bunch of them seemed to have their faces re-designed. I've heard of this type of prodcedure. It's called "plastic surgery". I thought they only performed it for medical purposes, but these people barely look like humans. Nearly every single person here in the Capitol looks like they're part of some circus act. They dressed in clothing I've never seen before, some cradling these huge, puffy dogs, while some had eyelashes that resembles long blades. I never knew that such flamboyant people existed.

The variations of people were endless. Each individual citizen looked like they were part of their own cult or something. Words cannot describe how _ugly_ they looked. However, fifty percent of them were cheering my name, so who am I to judge them? Once we arrive at the station and exit the train, we are taken to one of the tall buildings. I find out that this building is the training center. Trixie takes Zelda and me into a room that resembles the room you'd go in when being examined by the doctor. The lady in there greets me, and tells me to go change into this robe. When that was done, she invited me to lay down on the table that was there. She slowly hoses me down with a water spray. I've never felt water as refreshing as the one I was being massaged with now, not even back home in district 4. She sprays me, giving me different types of massages. Once that is done, she tells me, "Okay, you're done. Just wait here for your stylist, Daryl to come." With those words, she turned on the radiator and left.I stay in the room for a while, waiting for Daryl to come. I've never been in a place like this this before, come to think of it.

The first thing I notice about Daryl when he finally walks in is his hair. It's long enough to go down to his shoulders, but that's not the strange part. Being a Capitol citizen, I knew that he'd have colored hair, but Daryl's was different than the rest. His hair was blue, but then it turned green, and then suddenly red, and then orange, and then back to blue. It was actually pretty neat. "I'm so sorry you're here right now." He says. "I can't imagine how it feels like, being betrayed by your own friends and neighbors. I'm here to help you in any way I can." Well, at least he's friendly. "Tonight is the Tribute Parade. We want to show you off to the world. You are to report back here at precisely 8:00 PM sharp, wearing this costume." Daryl then hands me a package, which I presume has my costume inside it. "Now you will be taken to your room, and you should stay there until then."

I walk out, and I meet up with Trixie and Zelda. "Let me show you two to the rooms you'll be staying at." We follow her into an elevator, and we are taken up to the 4th floor of the apartment building. When it opens, it feels like I'm inside a palace. Everything is decorated so wonderfully... Everything feels so...futuristic... Both Zelda and me feel our own jaws dropping. "Enjoy it while you can, children," says Trixie. "This is all for you." I instantly go and explore the apartment. There's a huge TV room... A refrigerator with foods of every kind... A large dining room... I love it. At one point, Trixie told us that we could watch the recaps of the voting results. I wanted to see who my competition was firsthand, so she directed Zelda, me, and Baylen into the TV room. On the big television screen, we were able to see the recordings of the results for each district.

The male selected for District One was a tall, brawny 17 year-old who's name is Cedric. Seeing his thrill of having his name being called, I'm pretty sure he's a career; This is District One, After all. The female tribute from District One is the same age as Cedric. She is a blonde girl who's name is Emerald. She, like Cedric, climbed up to the stage smiling, and waved to the crowd while they cheered as if she was just crowned as a princess.

What is it with the careers and their opinion on the Games?

Once that was done, we moved on to District 2. Needless to say, they were both careers. With the male tribute being an 18-year old named Emory, and the female tribute being another seventeen-year old named Crystal, the career pack should be as strong as ever, not to mention that another career tribute is sitting right next to me at the moment. I hope that I won't be forced to face any of them in the Games, for if I do, I don't think I'll be able to last long. I look at Zelda right next to me. It's hard to believe that once she joins forces with the other careers, they will turn into a group of bloodthirsty ravage beasts that will hunt down tributes like me.

I grab onto my anchor necklace. _Tony told me to be strong_, I think to myself. _I won't be afraid of the careers_. We watched the clips until we reached District Four. From the video, we're able to see all of the kids lined up, waiting to hear the name. When Trixie calls the name "_Evan Odair_," I'm able to find myself in the video when Dally latched onto me. All eyes were on me when the peacekeepers came and dragged me onto the stage. Was I really that wild? My screaming and hollering seemed to be heard from all over District Four. I look over and I find Rosalinda. Rosalinda; oh no! She saw the whole thing! She saw me screaming and crying! What if she thinks I'm a helpless baby, now? Wow, did I mess up, big time. When it got to the part where I get injected, I hear Zelda right next to me quietly chuckle "ha, what a wimp!" I try to shrug this off as we watch the other districts.

It's pretty disturbing, watching these recaps. Who knows what these poor tributes have done only to be sent away to the arena like that? Not much happened until we got up to District 7. I noticed that a bunch of trees that were usually there were gone. It didn't seem like they were just chopped down; it looked like there was a major forest fire. When they called up the female name, which was "Wanda", a medium-sized girl from the 14-year-old section stepped out. She didn't seem too happy, but at the same time she seemed to accept the fact that she was chosen. Once that was done, District 7's escort called out the boy tribute, who's name was "Finn Anderson." As soon as she called that name, fifteen.. twenty peacekeepers came rushing over to the 13-year-old section, and immediately handcuffed the boy who's name was called. "It wasn't me! It wasn't me! I'm innocent I tell you!" He cried. He frantically and desperately tried to escape their clutches, but just like me, he failed. At this point, he bursted into hysterical tears. "Please! It wasn't me! Someone has to believe me!" He cried just as he was being forced up the stage.

"Get in that arena like the monster you are!" Yelled an audience member. "Yeah, how does it feel to be the most hated thing in District 7?!" Said another. Nearly everyone in District 7 started calling out things like "Go rot in that arena! We will all cheer as the cannon blasts for you!" or "We all can't wait to see your face up in that sky!"

Finn Anderson then dropped to his knees and began to beg for his life. "Please! I'm begging you! Don't make me go through this! It wasn't me!" When he said that, a person in the audience yelled "Well you should of thought about that before! Now it's too late!" Right when it seemed like they were all going to trample on stage to get Finn with their own hands, the escort said, "Here are our tributes from District 7!" And then quickly took Wendy and Finn (well, _dragged _Finn, since he was still kneeling), into the Justice Building.

"Huh. What's his problem?" Says Zelda.

"Panem is full of so many dumb, whiny people. They don't deserve the honor of being in the Hunger Games." Replied Baylen.

At this rate, I don't think I want to watch anymore children getting picked into the Hunger Games.

"You're right. They don't." I say to Baylen rather coldly as I exit the room.

I find Mags reading a book in the living room, so I go and sit with her. "So many innocent ones are being sent into these Games," I tell her. I don't know what Finn is being accused of, but I think he's innocent. "Yes, they are very unfair." She tells me. She then looks at me, rather strangely. "You look a little gloomy." She says. "Are you okay?" I then realize that I have a huge headache. I'm also starting to feel very tired... "I don't know..." I reply. "I think I just need to lie down." Mags then takes me into my bedroom, lays me down on my bed, and tucks me in. Yes, I know I was being treated like a toddler, but with Mags I feel so comfortable and protected. She treats me like a mother. "Now, shut your eyes for a few hours. When you wake up, we'll go down to the Chariot rides." She says as she puts her hand on my head. "Here, let me fix this screen for you." She picked up a remote control that was lying on the desk, and with it she changes projections on the wall. Urban, forest, desert, nearly everything. She then finally finds a projection of an ocean shore. The waves are so calm.. The seagulls are so peaceful... The sunset is so beautiful... Just like the beach back home. Mags then leaves and lets me rest. Words cannot describe how comfortable I feel... So cozy... So peaceful... When I suddenly feel my eyes start to close.


	7. The Tribute Parade

When Mags wakes me up, it is about 7:00 PM. I'm supposed the be down at the Chariot Rides at eight. I rise out of bed: Wow, I feel so refreshed... I can't imagine any cloud being softer than that bed. I just want to stay there... Sleeping on that wonderful paradise of a bed... "How do you feel? I was so worried about you, Evan." Mags finally tells me.

"I'm fine, Mags. That nap really helped."

"Here Evan, I made this for you." In her hands, she had this 3-scooped chocolate ice cream cone, with whipped cream and hot fudge. When she hands it to me I instantly take a bite. It feels like an entire chocolate paradise has entered my mouth. This tastes so much better than the ice cream on the train! They should make this back in District Four. I could share this with Tony and Dally! I mean, I wish I could... "You should change into your costume once you've finished, dear." says Mags. "But first you should get washed up. The bathroom is in the back." "I decide that I should. I haven't bathed since I was back home. I also want to look good in front of Panem. So I enter the bathroom and I take a Capitol shower. The water feels so much like a relaxing massage. With the press of a button I can change the water amount, temperature, and even the type of massage. There are many different soap and shampoo dispensers for every different scent. I pick ocean breeze shampoo, for it said the word "ocean" in it. I knew that it'd smell good, but I spend awhile just inhaling the wonderful aroma.

After getting finishing the shower, I look at the clock. 7:50. I have ten minutes to get into my costume. I open the package Daryl had given me and find a boring sailor costume that's my size. I quickly dress into it, and meet up with Zelda out the door. I notice that she's wearing the same thing I was wearing, except that it was more geared towards girls. It had a skirt instead of trousers. We go down the elevator and all the way down to the training center. When the door opened, we found Daryl waiting for us. He walked us down to the area where the horses (which were pulling the chariots) were. There, we were able to see all of the other tributes face-to-face. Cedric and Emory of District One were dripping with diamonds and jewels. Though they had promised us that Careers were equal to us regular tributes, they sure were getting special treatment.

"When you get on that chariot, I want you two to wave to the crowd with great charisma. If you want sponsors, you need to make a good impression." Daryl told us. "And to make a good impression, you have to be unique. And to be unique, you just have to be yourself. No one likes a faker." The official announces that it's time for everyone to board the carriages. Zelda and I climb in and try to balance on the chariot. I notice that she tries to distance herself as much as possible from me. When it feels like the horses were about to start moving, Daryl approached me, putting his hand inside his pocket. From it, he takes out Tony's sapphire anchor necklace. He must have gotten it from Mags, since I had asked her to hold on to it for me while I slept. "Here, I almost forgot to give this to you." He says while putting the necklace around my neck. "The Capitol will go nuts for you when they see you wearing this. Sapphire is very valuable, and it's all the Capitol Citizens want to purchase. However it is very expensive."

As Daryl says this, he leans closer to me. "Between you and me, many Capitol Citizens would do anything to even get a _glimpse_ at a thing like that."

Just then the horn rang and the horses went off. Zelda and I stood in position, ready to show our faces off to Panem. When the doors opened, we appeared in this stadium, similar to a horse-race stadium. District 3 is in front of us, and District 5 is behind us. I could hear the National Anthem all over the place. In the seats were thousands of screaming and adoring fans. The faces of the tributes were shown on the side of the big screen, one by one as they passed by. When it got to my face, the sapphire anchor necklace was shown, crystal clear. When the audience laid their eyes on it, I can't even begin to describe how _loud_ they roared. They all screamed in adoration at the look at my necklace. A lot of them instantly took out their cameras and took a million photos. Man, the sapphire anchor is apparently a big deal here. Some of the Capitol girls my age started crying. Yes. You heard me. They bursted into tears and started holloring my name. I think that a few of them even fainted... That's when one girl in the audience stood up, and started to chant really loudly, "_Evan Odair!_" "_Evan Odair_!" This cheer eventually caught on with the person next to her, and pretty soon everyone in here was cheering my name.

They were at this for so long, that they nearly forgot about the other districts. Once the cheering finally calmed down, we approach President Snow, standing on the high balcony. President Snow is pretty young, only about 24 years old. Snow became Panem's leader a few years ago, when Baylen won His Hunger Games. You can tell that his favorite time of the year is The Hunger Games. As he looks down on us tributes, I can see a faint smile on his face. This face wasn't made to welcome us. It was made to subliminally strike fear into our hearts. That wicked smile wasn't made to honor us, or to congratulate us. It was made to tell us that we were powerless. I thought that everyone else noticed the smile, but I seemed to be the only one who knew. Once all of the chariots stop in front of Snow, all of the cheering and music starts to wind down. He looks at us, and begins to speak.

"Welcome, tributes. We welcome you to the Capitol, and to the 25th Annual Hunger Games, and the First Quarter Quell. Your Honor, Courage, and Sacrifice has inspired all who have seen you. We salute you and your families, who have bravely given you the honor of being here tonight. And we know that without you here, there would be no nation has we know it today. Happy Hunger Games, and may be odds be ever in your favor."

_Lies!_ I think to myself. _So many_ _lies! _He might as well just say something like "We have more power than you. You have been betrayed by your own friends and families. We don't care about you. All we want is to be entertained by you worthless tributes killing each other."

The crowd then resumes in cheering for us. I feel My necklace glimmer as we turn back around into the training center. When Zelda and I go in and get off the horses, we are greeted by Baylen, Mags, Trixie, and Daryl. "Good job, guys!" Mags told us. "You went out and bravely showed yourselves off to Panem." Baylen then says something, but his voice is so wheezy that I could barely understand him. Trixie seemed to be the most excited of all. "That necklace is the key! Now everyone here loves you! That necklace is going to create a big deal here in the Capitol! Wherever did you obtain such an expensive pendant?"

"Well Trixie, this sapphire anchor really belongs to my brother Tony. Whenever he's on lifeguard duty at the beach back home, he'd wear it. When I was picked to fight in the Quarter Quell, he gave it to me. So actually, the worth money-wise of this pendant means nothing to me. It's the fact that it was given to me by my brother, and I'll be able to have a piece of home with me at all times." Trixie looks at the pendant with great curiosity. "What a lovely one it is. These pendants are only found in the mines of District 12, though it is extremely rare. The miners can't keep it, so it is sent to be crafted in District 1, where they specialize in luxary. That's the only place where they are sold. Where did your brother find such a thing?"

Now that question comes to me. _How did Tony get this necklace?_ I'll have try and figure it out before the Games.


	8. A New Friend

The next day, we report back to the training center. All of the tributes gather in front of Sue, one of the head trainers, standing on a pedestal. She tells us that survival skills are just as useful as sword and fighting skills, and that she suggests that we focus on finding food and water, rather than weapons and combat. After always finding food on the beach and tying nots to make nets, I'm sure I'm good to go. However, I don't think that I'll be good at any fighting, for the event that I encounter any of the careers. I guess that I'll work on that.

Once we are free to start training, I head to the fencing station, and I meet the sword trainer. He asks me what level I wanted to practice in. My options were beginner, easy, medium, hard, and samurai. I've only touched a sword once. That was when I used to go to the Career Training camps. So, I request "beginner." I stand in the middle of the mat with a training sword in my hand. The trainer says "_Begin_!" For the next minute, I just stand there nervously, waiting for my trainer to do something. Just then he takes a swing with his sword. This happens so suddenly, that I trip and fall to the ground, barely dodging the sword. I try to counter-attack him with my sword, but then he rips it from my hand. He then knocks me down with the handle of my own sword.

I look over to where the career tributes were training. Cedric and Emerald from 1 and Emory from 2 were watching me. When they saw me fail, some started laughing to themselves and some started making nasty comments. I thought that my trainer was going to let me have it, but he reached for my hand and told me that I'm doing well for a beginner. I knew that I should practice, but I wanted to experiment with other stations. I noticed that there was a trident at one of them.

The trident stood in an upright position. From the looks of it, it probably was the spearing and battling-with-trident station. From a lifetime of catching food with my trident, I'd say that I'm pretty proficient at it. I may need to work on combat skills, though. I approach the station, and I request a beginner training session. I get myself prepared both physically and mentally, and I await for the trainer to say "begin." When he does, he starts slowly evaluating me. He attempts to take a poke at me with his trident, but I'm successfully able to dodge. I imagine myself back at the beach, about to capture a fish. I then realize that I was able to attack the trainer. _I'm actually pretty good at this_, I say to myself. Once the training session is over, I take a look at the careers. They seemed pretty impressed at my skills with a trident.

Maybe I'm more of a threat to them now than I was before... And that doesn't help me either. Now I'm just going to be another one on their target list. I look around and try to figure out what station to do next. The lumberjack station catches my eye. The station is occupied by Finn, the District 7 male. He's the one who was being accused of some crime. I figure that this is the perfect time to try to befriend him and to make an ally. He was practicing moves with an axe. I'm sure he's pretty proficient at the axe; he is from District 7 (Lumber), after all. As Finn takes his final swing, he turns and looks at me. He jumped back when he saw me, and looked at me rather curiously. I noticed that he took a few steps back as I approached him. Was he scared of me? Why does he seem afraid? Yes. That's probably it. After being accused of some crime and being sent into the Games, I'm sure he'd be petrified of anything.

"Hello, my name is Evan. Evan Odair- District 4." I say to him. Finn seemed to calm down when I said this. He comes to me, and gives out his hand."Finn Anderson. District 7." "You seem pretty good with an axe." I tell him.

"Thanks, I try. I saw you with that trident. You seem like a fierce tribute."

And that's how we begin conversation. I easily get along with him, and he's pretty cool. One thing though, is that he reminds me a lot of Dally back home. We resume with practice, and we talk to each other about life back home. Finn tells me that District 7 is filled with trees, and it is pretty large compared to the other Districts.

Eventually, Finn's mentor comes with a girl, who I immediately recognize as Wanda, The District 7 female tribute. "Well, I see you've finally made a friend," The mentor says to Finn. I immediately recognize the mentor. His name is Blight, and he was the victor of the 23rd Hunger Games. "Yes I have, Blight." Finn responds to him. "His name is Evan, and he is from District 4."

"District 4. But I see that you're not a career?" Blight asks me.

"No sir, I'm not much of a fighter."

"That's good. I like seeing that in people. I've come to remind you two that's it's time for lunch. All of the tributes are meeting at the dining table here in the Training Center. Evan, do what you need to do and come when you're ready."

From there, Blight took Wanda and Finn with him.

Good, I've made a new friend. Maybe I'll have an ally in the arena.


	9. Attack at the training center!

I go to the table where all of the tributes were gathering. Finn and Wanda were already there, and next to Finn was an open seat. I take it, and I am greeted by them. Across from me is sitting Emory, and next to him is Crystal from District 2. Right next to Crystal sat Zelda.

Right to the left me sits a boy named Rodney, who is the male tribute from District 12. Eventually all of tributes take their seats at the table. Everyone is generally quiet, not making any noise. An avox comes and serves everyone their food. We all get food that comes from our own district, and my meal was something I'd thought I'd never seen again. On the plate which lied in front of me is a huge, juicy, well-cooked Melder fish. Like I mentioned earlier, they are like the jewel of District 4. I've only had a taste like of that once in my life. I instantly dig into it. It tastes so good, I could go on eating it forever. Oh, how I wish that I've captured more back home. I could've savored it...

Everyone is silent while we eat. I get this weird feeling... It's very awkward. It's not every day that you have a "peaceful" lunch with people you are going to fight to the death with. For all I know, I'm sitting next to the person who's going to kill me. I'm probably also looking at the person who's going to die because of me... I just don't want to think about it at the moment.

I finally say some words to Finn... And eventually we make conversation. As the other tributes see this, they seem to begin their own conversations. I then remember what happened at the District 7 Reaping.

"Finn, I saw the recaps from when you were picked into the Games. I was wondering if you could tell me-"

"Not yet. Please... I'm sorry, I don't really want to talk about it now... I'll tell you later."

After he said that, Sue came and told us that lunch was over. We had the option of either going back into our apartments or continue training. I decide that I should prepare as much as possible. Finn, with a slight grim expression, excused himself and went back to his dwelling. The bell dismissing us from lunch then rang, and we were free to return to our stations. I'm sure that there will be a trident available in the Games, so I figure that I should work on combating with it. I leave the lunch room, and return to the gymnasium where the stations are held.

I look around and find the Trident station, and that's where I go. Everything seems normal, but when I reach it I notice that the trident isn't standing in its usual place. I then hear a voice behind me.

"Well, it looks like the rat decided to show up." I turn around, and I find Zelda looking at me. In her hands, she has the trident. I try to ignore that comment and wait for her to let me have a try with the trident. But she doesn't.

"What do you think you're doing?" She snaps at me.

"I'm just waiting for you to finish-"

"No. Get out of here. No one wants you. In fact, you shouldn't even bother training. You are going to be the first one to die, anyway."

What _does_ this girl have against me? I try rationalizing with her.

"Listen, I don't want any problems. When you are done, could you _please_ let me try and practice?"

"No. You're an Odair. Odairs never amount to anything. Your family is what's wrong with District 4. Your brother Tony isn't a lifeguard because he wants to save lives. He is just there at the beach to flirt with other girls."

I feel my face get red and my heart begins to accelerate. I go up to her face, and say in a voice I've never heard myself say before.

"DON'T YOU SAY A WORD ABOUT MY BROTHER."

When I say that, she grabs me by the neck, lifts her hand, and gives me such a powerful blow with her hand on my cheek. The same way my father punched me back home. I get sent tumbling down to the ground, and I find myself on the ground.

"Ooh, I'm so scared! Please don't hurt me, Mr. Toughie!" She says sarcastically.

I hold my hand to my face in extreme agony. Doing this, I make my stomach vulnerable. Zelda takes advantage of this.

"Cedric, come here!"

Just then a big, muscular Cedric (male tribute from District 1) comes.

"Oh, lookie what we have here. Odair from District 4. Pathetic." He says.

Cedric then pulls his foot back, and gives me a powerful, forceful, and extremely painful kick in the stomach. This causes him and Zelda to start laughing like clowns. Cedric turns to Zelda and says, "Go ahead. I'll take him from here." She then says something, but I can't hear it because I'm at the point of nearly unconsciousness. I try calling for help. But I can't get the words out. Cedric then crouches down, holds up his fist, and gives me yet another punch in my face. He starts laughing, and eventually the rest of the Careers come. They all surround me, laughing, but I hear it very faintly. Everything seems blurry, I can't get up. I can never describe this feeling, I'm so hurt, that I loose reality with the world.

I start getting visions. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, like a ghost, Tony appears in front of me. This is just a hallucination, but he seems so real. "Be strong." He tells me. "Be strong. Hang in there. You are strong." He then slowly vanishes in midair, as the Peacekeepers come and stop Cedric and the careers from attacking me anymore. I slowly become unconscious.


	10. Would you like to be my ally?

When I wake up, I'm lying in my bed back on the 4th floor. Sitting on the chair next to me is Mags. "Good-Morning, sleepyhead!" She says to me. Naturally, I'm very confused. How did I end up here? The last thing I remember was being at Cedric's mercy as he repetitively kicked me... "Where am I?" "Your are in your room, Evan." Mags answers. She tells me that I was knocked out for 24 hours. After Cedric had beaten me, I was taken by stretcher into my room. They did put medicine in me, so I only feel a dull pain in my stomach. I pull up my shirt, and. I find a thoroughly wrapped bandage on the place where Cedric had kicked me.

"Don't worry; you've only missed a day. Nothing important. At least you are okay." I look at the clock. 2:30 PM. Wow, did I oversleep. "You slept straight through breakfast, so I saved some for you. I'll be right back." Mags then went out of the room and came back rolling in a cart. The cart contained a feast on it. Pancakes, French toast, sausage, bacon, orange juice, you name it. She pulled the cart up to me, and told me that I could grab as much food as I wanted. I instantly eat like there is no tomorrow. I've never had such a gourmet meal before. I chow down all of the pancakes, orange juice, and bacon that was found on the cart.

After I take my last bite, Mags told me that I should go down and train as much as I could. Tomorrow they'll be evaluating me on any chosen skill, and I need to prepare. I already missed one day's worth of training, and I can't afford to waste any more time. I'm still injured from the other day, but I can still walk and jump around like I usually do. I enter the bathroom, take off the bandages that were wrapped around my stomach, and get dressed into my training gear. I put on my sapphire anchor necklace, I comb my hair and exit my apartment into the elevator. I press the button that takes me into the training center, and the elevator begins to descend.

While I'm in there I deeply begin to think about what I should do in the evaluation. Should I use my trident? Should I tie knots? Should I just stand there, looking into the head gamemaker's eyes, not moving a muscle? Well I have to make that decision quickly. When the door finally opens, no one seems to notice me walk into the gymnasium. I look at the sword station, and I see Cedric, Zelda, Emory, Crystal, and Emerald practicing their sword skills.

I feel a chill up my spine when I see them. I'm sure that I'm first on their kill-list when we enter the arena. After attacking me, they must know how weak I am. I'm wishing that none of them would notice me, but Crystal and me make eye contact. A wicked smile then emerges from her face, and she alerts the others of my appearance. Most of the careers turn and see me (except Cedric, as he was still slicing the mannequins in half), and they all, with their arms crossed, give me the stare.

The glare that shot from their eyes and pierced through my soul made the most intense sensation of dread and despair wash over me. Their eyes alone gave me a huge feeling fear, depression, and dreadfulness. I can't describe... Not matter how hard I try... The feeling I got when I was being watched. But that feeling was _nothing_\- That's right, _nothing_\- compared to the feeling I got when Cedric saw me. When his eyes meet mine, I feel intense pain on my face where he hit me the other day and even more pain where he kicked me on my stomach.

The corners of his lips rise to make a malicious smile. He lifted his sword, and pretended to sharpen it while he was looking at me. At first I'm confused, but then it hits me. He's going to destroy me with that sword of his. I can't nor I don't want to have this intense feeling anymore, since it will only weaken me. I move on to the trident station. I survey the area, with extreme caution. I could be attacked at any given time. I grab the trident and slowly lift it up. When the coast is clear, I begin to swat and hit the mannequins that were there. I have to say, I'm pretty good at this. As I'm practicing, I notice Finn approaching me.

"There you are, Evan! Where have you been? I tell him the whole entire story. I describe to him the excruciating attacks that were bestowed on me. The horrific words that pierced right through me. As I recollect the experience to my friend, I feel tears come to my eyes. I don't hold it in. The tears just flow out of my eyes. I find sorrow in Finn's face, and he comes and gives me a sympathetic hug. "It's okay... The careers are just trying to scare you..." He tells me. "Here, look at your Sapphire Anchor." Finn grabs onto Tony's anchor pendant. "You are strong. Just like this pendant says you are. Don't believe those careers." This seems to calm me down. I thank him for doing so, and he gives me a pat on my back. I use this time to really evaluate him; Medium-cut brown hair, slight freckles and hazel District 7 eyes. He looks like he is a hard worker. I've seen him practicing, and I can tell that he works hard in anything he does. Not one bit is he like the way I saw him at the tribute-picking ceremony.

Not to mention that he is polite and well-spoken. I can't imagine what he could've done for him to be standing here on his impending doom. Or maybe he'll be able to leave that arena. Yeah, then he could go back and show those no-good citizens of District 7 a lesson! But then that would mean that... I wouldn't survive...And if I survive somehow, Finn will have no choice but to be killed...

Ugh why? Just why? When I'm ready to practice Finn brings me to the axe station and begins to teach me how to use an axe. I personally have never held one before, let alone know how to use it. At first, he shows me different types of grips. "Left hand here, right hand there," or "lift it like that, hold it at this angle." Though I didn't want to waste time learning how to hold an axe, I have to admit, those grips did help me with training. There were many tree stumps at the station, so Finn had me practice on them.

I learn a lot from Finn, he really knows how to teach with an axe. When he finishes teaching me, he tells me that he wants to see my skills with the trident. And so I go to the trident station. Finn tells me that I should use some of the techniques he taught me. By doing that, I can increase my fighting skills. When I took swings with the trident, I become amazed at my own skills; I did not realize how much Finn has taught me. When I finish my training, I greatly thank him for his teachings. That's when I feel the urge to ask him.

"Finn, would you like to be my ally in the arena?"

When I say that, I see a dark look on his face. Very grim, and very solemn. He looks like he needs to tell me something.

"Yes... I would love to, Evan. We'll plan out our strategy tomorrow."

Just then the bell rings. Training is over. Finn and I head over to the elevator. I press the "4" and "7" button. When we reach my floor, I turn to Finn and he says,

"It was fun hanging with you Evan. Good-night!" as the door slide shut.

When I step into the living room I see Trixie. Her face lights up when she sees me. "Hello, my dear. Are you all right? I tell her that I am fine, and everything that happened at training.

"I'm so happy to hear that you've made a new friend! Friends are good in the arena!" As we finish talking, she bids me goodnight as I enter my bedroom. I dress into my pajamas, hop into bed, and turn on the lights. I need my rest, tomorrow is the individual evaluation. I still don't know what I should do for it.


	11. The private training session

I'm in the arena. I'm running from something out in the open field; running from what? A beast? A tribute? That's something I don't want to find out. I keep running, until I feel something grab onto my feet. My face hits flat on the ground. I turn around and see my attacker. Cedric with flames in his eyes, pulls up his long sharp knife with blades that resembled a hungry lion's teeth or claws. No matter how much I try to evade, it's no hope. The knife darts down and when it's about to create impact against my chest, I find myself in my own room in the Capitol.

This has been the same nightmare I've been having since I was attacked by Cedric and the careers. There's something about this nightmare; it's so vivid, very realistic, and probably extremely likely. I'm very tired, but I know that I have to do my best at the evaluation today. I should eat a well-balanced breakfast. After putting on my Sapphire Anchor, I head down to breakfast and meet Zelda, Mags, Baylen, and Trixie at the breakfast table. I sit as far from Zelda as I possibly could. The table is generally quiet, except for when my mentors tell me all about what's going to happen down there "You will be free to present any chosen skill," Mags had explained. "And with the short time you have there," Baylen added, "You'll need to impress them as much as possible."

After breakfast, Zelda, Trixie and me find ourselves exiting the elevator into the gymnasium. She directs us into this little waiting room where all of the tributes were gathering. "Good luck you two," Trixie wishes us as we find our seats. Once all of the tributes arrive, the announcer starts calling in names beginning with "Cedric, District 1."

After what seems like years the speaker finally announces

"Evan Odair, District 4."

I feel my legs wobble as I slowly get up and approach the door. It automatically closes behind me as soon as I enter. In front of me is this huge gymnasium, filled with items of all sorts. There was a bow and arrow, paints, swords, and things like that. One thing I notice is a huge space directly in the middle. In front of the space is a stand with several buttons on it. A few yards away from me was a trident.

"Whenever you're ready, Mr. Odair,"

The head gamemaker calls out to me. Without thinking, I go and grab the trident. Out of curiosity, I approach the stand with buttons on it. I press a big red button that was on it, and the big space in front of me slowly begins to open up. It opens up to a 20 by 10 feet pool.

Wow, could this day get any better? I can impress them with my swimming skills! That's when I notice another button. On it, was a picture of a shark. I press it, and in the water a muttation of a shark suddenly appears. This is probably something that I could use for my evaluation.

"Is it dangerous?" I call out to the gamemakers.

"No. Extremely harmless."

I think over my plan, and then I settle it. I take my shoes, socks, and shirt off and with my trident in hand, and I prepare to make the dive.

_ 3, 2, 1_ and I'm in the water. At first, I just swim, and then I feel the shark come close to me. Right when it seems like it's about to eat me, I instantly spear it on the nose. The shark muttation flinched, and I was able to continue swimming. However, the shark muttation kept on coming at me. I used a freestyle stroke to attempt to race away from it. But I decide that I can't show any cowardice towards the gamemakers. I hold my trident like a sword, swim towards the shark, and I begin attacking it using moves that Finn taught me.

Now I have two goals; the first goal is to defeat the shark. My next goal is to swim all the way to the other side of the pool. I find myself a few feet below the water's surface. Whatever I do, I have to make it quick or else I'll drown...

As I ready my trident for the next attack, I realize that the shark is only inches away from me. I quickly turn around and unthinkingly give the shark a nice _fist_ on its nose. This apparently seems to injure it, as it slowly begins to sink into the water. With my trident, I make one final strike and that seems to finish off the muttation. It slowly gets sucked into the opening it came from.

Did I just do that? It can't be... I've never took on a muttation like that before, and I've never thought that I'd defeat one like that. That's definitely going to earn me a big score!

I quickly rise back up to the surface to see the gamemaker's faces, only to realize that this isn't over. The water that was once calm isn't calm anymore. The water was angry, with fierce and powerful waves. Yes, it was the size of your average town pool, but in my view it was a hurricane over an ocean. I instantly go back in my thoughts and remember each individual swimming lesson Tony has given me. Those lessons can't fail me now. The water was sucking me under, so while grasping for air, I tread and flail my arms to try to keep myself afloat.

I'm about to give up, but then Tony's words come back to me. I keep on going, trying to let nothing stop me. Whenever I find myself above the surface, I get greeted by another strong wave. It takes a couple of minutes to pass the waves, but it feels like I've been swimming for hours. And so I just swim as fast as I possibly can until I reach the ledge.

I nearly throw myself out of the water. Without hesitation I find the stand with buttons and hit the big red one. This causes the pool to close up.

It all happened so fast... I nearly forgot where I was... I knew that I was in the training center, but it felt like I was in the middle of a hurricane. I'm so nearly out of breath, that I just collapse on the floor. I shiver in the clammy air, regretting ever making the decision of what I just did.

I can't think about how much of little I have impressed the gamemakers, and frankly, I don't even care. I just want to be back in the warm, sunny beach back home.

"Thank you, Mr... will be all."

A voice calls down to me. I don't even pay attention to what was said to me nor even who said it, I need warmth and dryness **now**.

"What _are_ you doing? He needs warmth!"

I hear another voice call out. I slowly turn my head, and I see Finn hurrying in the room. Behind him is Baylen.

Finn crouches down next to me. "Are you okay, Evan?" he says as he puts his hand on my shoulder.

"You're freezing and drenched! Someone bring a towel!" He calls out. Daryl comes in and in his hands is a towel. He spreads it on my back, wrapping it so that it wraps all around me. Baylen crouches next to me, giving me a mug of what I think is hot chocolate.

"Don't worry Evan... You'll be alright." Says Finn as he lies me down on the floor. I try to get up, but he stops me, telling me to continue to lie down. I'm lying down, with Finn kneeling next to me. "You'll be okay... Just hold on..."


	12. Let the 25th annual Hunger Games begin!

"Can you breathe fine, Evan?" The doctor is telling me. I'm back in my room, sitting on my bed. "Yeah I'm fine, doc." "Good. You'll be fine. Well, I'm on my way. Good luck if I don't see you! With that she marches out of my room. A few hours later, we all gather in front of the television to see the scores.

Cedric got a score of 11

Emerald got a score of 9

Emory got a score of 10

Crystal got a score of 10, as well,

Zelda got a score of 9,

and I got a score of...12... Yes. You read that correctly. I got a perfect score in training. Needless to say, when they announced the score, everyone in the room (except Zelda, of course) exploded into cheer. Everyone roared with cheering for the next five minutes. I've never seen anyone this excited before; I was getting so much fame! Even Baylen gave me a huge pat on the back! But out of all of them, Trixie is the most excited.

"We got a 12! We got a 12! Oh my goodness, I think I'm going to faint!" She hollered. Everyone's so loud, that I can't even hear the rest of the scores. I guess all of that pain was worth it, after all! That score keeps me very happy for a while. Tony must be very proud of me! Things can't go any better! Until I realize... Tonight are the interviews. That means that the Games start tomorrow. Tomorrow may be my last day on this planet.

Oh no, why? Just why? Daryl then calls me down to explain to me exactly what I'll be doing tonight. "I want you to wear this turquoise colored blazer. It's blue, and it corresponds to your District. On top of that, you should wear your sapphire anchor necklace." He hands me a package with my outfit inside, and he sends me back to my apartment. I try the tuxedo on, and I have to say, it looks really great on me. I can't wait to wear it. Other than the interviews, I have today practically to myself. I spend it by admiring the outside view, eating the food in the fridge, and overall live like there's no tomorrow. I try not to think about the Games.

As the hours go by, I have to say, I'm pretty enjoying myself here. Before I know it, however, I'm heading down to my interview. The first 3 districts go on their interviews first, and then Zelda. The careers talk about how confident they are in their abilities as careers and how they know that they might just win. When Zelda finishes her interview, they call my name up. With a racing heart, I go onstage. That's when Julius Shellman, the interviewer starts talking.

"Well, hello, hello, Evan my friend! I'm so happy to finally meet you!" He offers me a handshake and a seat right next to him. "We were all astonished when we first saw that necklace on you. Would you mind telling us about it?" I tell him all about how it belonged to my brother, Tony, and how he always wore it when he was on lifeguard duty.

"When he came to say good-bye, he gave it to me as a going-away gift." I explain to him.

After that, Julius asks me about how I like the Capitol, and things like that. I give him casual answers, only saying what's necessary. He then asks me about my training score. I decide that I don't want the whole world to know that I fought a muttation of a shark, so I tell him that I just showed my swimming skills. The interview in general is pretty nerve-racking. The entire nation of Panem is watching, including everyone in District 4.

"...Well, it's been nice getting to know you, Evan. We wish you the best of luck tomorrow. Ladies and gentlemen, Evan Odair from District 4!"

The crowd gives one final cheer as I go backstage. Mags, Daryl and Trixie are there to congratulate me. They tell me that I did good, and that they're sure that I gained the sponsors' attention. I watch the rest of the interviews, and they're all pretty good. I thought that Finn was going to talk about why he was sentenced to the Hunger Games, but he didn't mention it once.

Once night came, Zelda and I had one final chat with Mags and Baylen. "It has been a privilege being your mentors," she said to us. I notice that she had a tear in her eye. "We wish you the best of luck, and hope you do well." Baylen adds. As we turn around and leave, Mags stops me.

"Evan..." With this, she bursts into tears. After seeing this, I feel tear building up inside me as well. I go up to her and give her a hug. "Thank you so much for everything." I say to her. "You took care of me, and made me feel safe. I'll try to come back."

"Oh, Evan. You are like a son to me. Of all the tributes I've mentored, I've never been so close to one as much as I'm close to you."

That's true. In the time I've been here, Mags has been like a mother to me. "I'll be rooting for you, dear. I'm so proud of you...You've done so much." While saying this, she puts her hand to my face. "I can tell that your brother's so proud of you as well." She adds. For the next few minutes, we just embrace each other in our arms. I'm really going to miss her. She's helped me so much. "Well, you should have as much rest as possible. You have a big day ahead of you." She finally tells me. "Thank you for everything, Mags...Take care." I still have so much to say, but I can't seem to get the words out. Mags then slowly leaves the room.

I head to the window and have a look outside. With the remote, I change it to a beach view. I stay adoring the view for the next few hours. So calm...So peaceful...My mind is at such a pleasant ease... That's when I notice the time. 12:30 AM. I should get to sleep. It just might be the last time I will have a chance to. I climb into bed and close my eyes. It takes a while, but finally I slowly fall asleep... It feels like I'm asleep for only a few minutes but when I open them it's morning. Is today the big day? Yes. Yes it is. Today is the first day of the Huger Games. I can't believe it... I just can't believe it...

"Listen kid," Baylen says to me as we approach the hovercraft."I really don't care what happens to you in that arena, but it's my job to tell you anyway. There will be loads of goodies, like weapons and food at the cornucopia, and- hey are you listening to me? I'm not getting payed to be here!- It is recommended that you don't go run into it. Once that there gong starts, it will be an explosive bloodbath. You're better off surviving with just the clothes on that back of yours. Any *cough* questions?"

"What did you do in your Hunger Games?"

"Oh me?" Baylen says, while scoffing. "Well, it just so happens that I went in the bloodbath, and look at me now! It just proves how _fabulous _I am." He then leans closer to me, and whispers, "You won't last a measly second."

Once we arrive at the door, he lets me go into the hovercraft. While I'm entering, I hear him laugh rather loudly. "Good-luck, kid!" He shouts. "You are going to need lots of it! Ha!"

When I enter the hovercraft, all of the tributes are there, and once we are seated, we go aerial. After a few minutes, a lady goes around injecting us with our trackers. With this thing, the gamemakers will know exactly what I'm doing at any given time. After about 30 minutes in silence, I feel the hovercraft descending.

Each tribute is taken into their corresponding underground compartment. In there, I meet Daryl. He tells me to dress into the tribute clothing, which I do. The clothing is Waterproof, and can be worn in both very cold temperatures and very warm temperatures. "1 minute." Calls out a voice in the speakers. "Oops, I almost forgot," says Daryl. From his pocket, he takes out my sapphire anchor necklace. He comes close, and puts it around my neck. "Good-luck, Evan. You'll do great."

"Thank you, Daryl. And if I don't make it back please make sure this necklace gets back to Tony safety."

"Don't talk like that. I believe in you." 30 seconds. I slowly approach the tube. Once I get inside, it shuts closed behind me. That's it. There's no turning back. I look at Daryl, and he gives me a smile. He then mouths "You can do it." I then slowly feel myself rising into the arena. I'm in complete darkness for about 30 seconds, until I see light. I rise into the arena, with my eyes getting used to the light.

"Let the 25th Hunger Games begin! May the odds be ever in your favor!"

The first thing I notice is the huge cornucopia. The mouth was not directly in front of me, but I am still able to see most of it. Somewhere closer to the opening I see a golden trident, standing there as if it was just waiting for me. I also see a variety of other weapons as well. Th cornucopia is on a grassy land, but that's not all. The entire arena seems to be split in different sectors. The area right behind the cornucopia seemed to be a huge sandy area. Beyond the sand, however, was an ocean! Wow, I can't believe it! This arena has a beach! I study the arena even more, and to my surprise, the land in front of the cornucopia was pure tundra. It was like a snowy wasteland; Snow as far as the eye could see, and right in the middle of the tundra was a huge mountain. The mountain was very steep; seems dangerous to fall off. On the sides of the cornucopia were forest and grassland. Directly to the left of me stands Wanda, and directly to the right of me stands the boy from District 8.

I admire the beach area, as well as the snow behind me. I haven't seen snow before, coming from District 4. However, I didn't realize that the timer was already counting down.

_40\. 39. 38. 37_.

Oh no! I forgot to plan out my strategy with Finn!

30\. 29...28...27...

Still... I'm sure I'll be able to find him...

19...18...17...

Should I dash in to get the trident? Or is that to risky?

12...11...10...

This may be my only shot at getting the trident...

8...7...6...

No... I can survive without it...

5...4...

...Yes. I know what I'm going to do.

3...2...1..

_Ring!_ The gong goes.


	13. First night in the arena

I run. I don't think it. I just run it.

My eyes are on the trident. I have Baylen's warning in mind, but I know that I need that trident.

I feel my own breath accelerating to the point of painfulness, as my own heart races. In the path of the trident,

there is a small blue backpack. I should get to that, it might have something useful. When I reach the bag,

however, I feel something latch into my ankle, which gets me sent tumbling to the ground. My head quickly

jerks around, and I realize that my attacker is the male from district 10. He seems like he's my age, but he

aggressively tries to get the pack away from me. At first I try to escape him, but he begins to throw swings at

me. Without thinking, I swing a punch back right at his face. This attack makes him let go of me, but he still

tries to reach me. At this moment, a larger male from District 8 lifts him up, and begins to attack him!

I let out a noise, half of it out of relief and half of it out of terror. I try to ignore what just happened, and with

the bag in my hand, I quickly get up to try and reach the trident, only to see that it wasn't there.

_Where did it go?_ I say to myself. I quickly look all around. That's when I realize that it's a total bloodbath. All over the place, I see tributes viciously and violently fighting each other for supplies. Most of these tributes were careers, who were all killing off the weaker tributes. This alone makes me freeze in terror; I've seen past Hunger Games, but I never thought that this is what it felt like. It's a nightmare that you'd want to wake up from, only you can't wake up. You can't escape it.

I try to see who has the trident, but then I get pushed onto the ground again. I turn around, and I find the male from District 12 with the same trident in his hands. He lifts it up, about to spear me with it.

_This is the end_, I say to myself. But then I remember Tony and Dally back home. They're watching me right

now. I don't want them to see me end like this. I get up, grab the trident, from his hands and knock the boy

over with it. He takes out a knife, and tries to hurt my leg with it. He swipes several times, though he succeeds

in cutting my leg. I wince at the pain, and as a reaction I strike back with my trident.

Blood instantly streaks down from his face. He then collapses into my arms. Horrified, I check for a pulse.

There is none.

I killed him.

I can't believe it... I ended a life. I can't handle it any more. So I just run out of the bloodbath, dodging everyone and everything that I find in my path.

I run towards the beach. I run, run, and keep on running. This is tricky, since I have a painful cut on my ankle. I need to distance myself as far from the cornucopia as I possibly could (After all, no one seems to be going into the beach. They all head into the forest). I stop running when I reach the shore of the beach. I sit down, trying to catch my breath for a few minutes. I find a leaf nearby and press it onto my wound.

That's when I hear it. Cannons. I sit and try to count how many cannons sound.

12\. 12 cannons sound. Half of all of the tributes are gone. I just hope that one of those tributes is not Finn. I need him as an ally. He's the only one here I've become friends with.

No one seems to be coming to where I am, so I decide to settle in here right at the beach's shore. It's really hot here, and I feel myself sweating already. Fortunately, I'm used to hot. In my bag, I find an empty canteen, a few bandages (which I place on my cut), a small blanket, and some matches. Good enough.

I lay out the blanket on the sand and try to get used to the arena for the next few hours. To cool myself off, I take a dip into the ocean. It has no waves, so that's convenient. The water itself is so refreshing... So cool... So nerve-calming...and it's similar to the beach back home.

When I come out, the sky is already orange. I must've been swimming for hours. I sit on the blanket and let myself get dried. Pretty soon it gets dark.

Looking at the water, I remember being with Tony at the beach back home. It'd be just me and him, hanging out with each other for hours. He's probably watching me on TV right now. I really hope I can see him again.

By now it's very dark outside. I should get some sleep. Who knows what awaits me tomorrow? I lay down the blanket on the sand and try to get comfortable, as I gaze into the sky. It's very weird; considering that it's not sky I'm looking at. Everything here is man-made. There are no stars nor moon.

I'm so isolated from the rest of the world. Trapped, confined in this arena.

As my eyes start to close, I hear the Anthem play.

At first I'm confused, but then I remember that this is the part where they'll project the fallen tributes' faces into the sky. Here it is. I'm going to know who's alive and who's not.

As the anthem plays, the following faces are shown into the sky;

Both tributes from District 3.

Both tributes from District 5

Both tributes from District 6,

Female tribute from District 8,

Both tributes from district 9,

Male from District 10... He's the one who initially attacked me. I think it was the District 8 male who finished him off.

Female from District 11,

Male from District 12... And I'm the one who killed him. Because of me, his face is up in the sky. That boy had a life and family back home. He probably grew up hungry and tired, being from District 12. When they selected tributes from District 12, I'm sure they picked the ones who they thought would most likely win... Which in District 12, no one really had that chance. He never wanted to compete. His family was probably hoping that he'd make it home...

And I destroyed that hope.

Well, at least Finn is alive... Unfortunately, the entire career pack is alive as well. I'm sure they are all after me, based on the events that happened in the training center, not to mention that I got a higher score than all of them in training...

I double check to make sure I'm safe with no one stalking me, and then I slowly fall asleep.

I survived day 1 in the arena. Maybe I do have a chance, after all.


	14. Unwanted Attention

As my eyes slowly started to open, I lay my hands on where I was laying. I was hoping that I'd fine myself back in my warm bed, home in District 4. To my dismay, I remember that I'm in the arena for the 25th Hunger Games.

It's morning, but there isn't time to waste. Within a few minutes I have all of my stuff packed in my pack ready for travel. _I should look for Finn_, I conclude.

I try to remember everything I know about Finn...

He's a boy...

13 years old...

District 7...

District. 7. Lumber. Trees. If I'm correct in thinking, he's probably in the east and west sides of the arena. Those areas are pure forests and trees. If I can travel undetected, I may be able to find him there.

I know that I can't just go without a plan, because I can get ambushed at any given moment.

I wander around the beach, thinking about what I should do and luckily, I'm able to spot a coconut tree in the distance.

Without hesitation, I go and try to get a coconut from it. Food is scarce in the arena, and I need the energy.

I have no experience with tree climbing, so this may take a while.

I start by just shaking the tree, but the coconuts that were on it had an iron grip to the branches.

I attempted to climb, but that only resulted me in repetitively landing flat on my back.

After many failed attempts, I grab onto my trident. With it, I try to knock down the coconuts. Finally, one by one, the three of them fall onto the ground next to me.

Only one is enough, so I decide that I should save some for later. I go back to my original camp and I dig a big hole in the sand. In it, I place my bag and the remaining two coconuts. I keep the canteen and trident; those are tools that are important.

After I finish the coconut I decide that I should go search for Finn. I'm pretty sure he's in the forest, being from District 7. I wear my sapphire anchor pendant; I want that to be with me at all times. I splash myself on the face with the beach's water one last time and I finally start my journey.

I've been walking for hours. I have been successfully able to enter the woods, but there is still no sign of any person. I can't describe how quiet it is. So lonely. Nobody around. It's like I'm the only person left on Earth.

Come to think of it, it feels like I'm not on Earth at all. I'm in a different dimension, away from Panem and life as I know it.

Still, I have this ominous feeling that someone is going to jump out in front of me and attack me...

...How big _is_ this forest? Tree after tree, and I am shadowed by the branches and leaves. I can only hear mockingjay calls in the distance. Finding Finn would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

As I enter deeper in the forest, a slight glint catches the corner of my eye. I turn around, realizing that it was coming from an apple tree. The tree was _amazing_. It had so many red, crisp apples just waiting for someone to pick. I put my trident down and approach the tree.

I'm no tree climber, but I'm able to get a hold of an apple. My fingers wrap around it, and my mouth begins to water at the sight of it.

A delicious apple tree. Right in the middle of nowhere. Undiscovered. It apples ready to be eaten. Seems too good to be true.

When my feet landed back on the ground, my fears become confirmed. From seemingly out of nowhere, a giant net trap comes flying towards me. Before I have time to react, I'm tied up against the apple tree. It was a trap! I should've known!

I'm desperately hollering and screaming for help, frantically trying to free myself from the net. No matter what I do, I can't get out.

Unfortunately, my screaming attracted some unwanted attention. From beyond the trees I hear,

"Shhh.. Listen...Sounds like we found our first little victim. Let's give him a warm welcome, shall we?"

A few moments later five tributes come out from behind the trees.

Zelda.

Emory.

Emerald.

Crystal.

Cedric.

When Cedric and I create eye contact, a cunning, wicked smile suddenly emerges on his face.

"Well, well. Look at who we have here!"


	15. Help!

I try to call out for help; I'd rather be with anyone else in the world than to be with Cedric in this situation. But the net is pinning me down so hard, that I feel paralyzed.

"What? Mommy not here to save you?" Says Emory.

"Surprised you've made it this far. We were so sure that you were going to be first to go." Adds on Zelda.

"Better late than never," Says Cedric, and with footsteps like a monster, takes a step closer to me. He reaches for his belt and pulls out a piercing sharp knife, with blades that resembled a monster's teeth.

At the sight of the knife, I attempt to make another escape. I forget that I'm still tied to the tree. No matter how much I shake and wriggle free, it's no use. I can't escape.

"Wait a minute; what do we have here?" Says Emory suddenly.

He comes closer to me, and I realize that he's looking at my sapphire anchor pendant. "Lovely pendant you have there," he tells me.

He extends his arm, and wraps his fingers around the pendant.

"Get your dirty hands off it!" I shout to him. I am NOT Letting anyone mess with that pendant; it's my only reminder of Tony in this arena.

"Oh, and what are you going to do about it?" Emory said back, while ripping the necklace off my neck.

"Give it back _NOW_!"

"No. It looks much better on me!" He says to me, while putting the necklace around his neck.

At this moment I once again frantically try to free myself. I can barely get any words out. All I can do is scream and shout.

"D-don't touch the necklace! It belongs to Ton-"

Cedric then comes close to me and puts his hand on my shoulder.

"Shut up!" He shouts in my ear.

He flips out his knife, and holds it less than an inch away from my neck.

"Shhh..." Cedric whispers in my ear. For some reason, the way he says this makes me causes my screaming and flailing to suddenly stop.

With one hand on my shoulder, other hand holding a knife to my neck, he mutters;

"Don't worry, Odair. I'm going to make this long and extremely painful."

I feel myself start to wince. I don't want to die like this. Not in the hands of Cedric!

"It looks like that training score meant nothing. Look at you now!" I heard Zelda say.

"Finish him now, Cedric!"

"Make it painful! I want to see him suffer!"

As his knife came closer to my neck, I begin to whimper and I feel tears streaming down my cheeks. "Stop crying! It's getting really annoying!" Cedric snaps to me.

That's it. I'm done for. This is how I lose. In pain. In the hands of the careers. With my sapphire anchor gone.

I close my eyes, and wait for the pain to come.

But It doesn't.

"Hey Cedric, I think there's another tribute nearby!" Says Crystal.

"Yeah I think I see smoke beyond the trees!" Says Emerald.

I open my eyes and realize that they're right. Beyond the trees, there is smoke and some movement.

"Perfect. Another victim." Says Cedric. "We should go get them now before they get away,"

"But what about Odair, here?" Asks Zelda.

"He's not going anywhere. And I want to make his pain last as long as possible."

Cedric then looks at me, and says, "Listen up. Don't you dare make any smart moves, you hear? We'll be back, ready for you."

He goes into one of his packs, and takes out a thick cloth. He ties it around my mouth, preventing me from making any sound. He grabs another cloth, and now I'm blindfolded. I'm in pitch darkness.

With that, all of the careers go into the trees to try and locate the poor tribute.

Minutes pass by. I keep on expecting to hear a cannon, but it never comes. That's funny... They should've gotten the tribute by now.

I then hear a familiar voice behind me.

"Evan! Evan!"

The person then comes to me and begins to untie me from the tree. The person then seems to be tearing the ropes off with a tool of some sort.

Finally. I'm free!

The person then takes the cloth out of my mouth, and I take off my blindfold.

Words can not express the joy I felt when I saw who it was who untied me.

"Don't worry, Evan. I got your back." He says to me.

"Finn, it's you!"


	16. Rescued!- In the nick of time!

I couldn't believe it! Finn had come to rescue me!

"Finn, how did you find me?"

"I can't explain now. Let us get out of here before the careers arrive."

I grab my trident and we run back the direction I came until we are far from the careers' campsite. We then start walking.

Finn explains what had happened. When the gong rang, he dove into the bloodbath. His mind was completely on the axe that was near the mouth of the cornucopia. Unfortunately, the boy from 5 wanted it, too. Finn and the boy fought over it, but Finn won the battle. That was the end of the District 5 boy.

"It was horrible, Evan. I ended the life of an innocent boy!"

Once he had the axe, he ran off and hid into the woods. That's where he stayed the night.

This morning, Finn decided to come looking for me. With axe in hand, he headed towards where he assumed I was. The beach.

After walking for a while, he heard noises. And then a scream. I bet you can guess who's scream it was. Mine.

Finn hid in the bushes, and saw the careers taunting me. He knew that he couldn't just come out and politely ask the careers to let me go. He needed a plan.

When Emory had ripped the sapphire anchor off my neck, Finn devised the plan.

He went a little far into the trees, and began to cut off small branches of the trees. With the wood, he was able to build a fire.

He marched loudly in place, and mimicked the sound of walking. Once the fire was high, he heard Crystal say, "Hey Cedric, I think there's another tribute nearby!"

Finn quietly went further into the woods and around the camp area. When the careers were far away, he came and untangled me with his axe.

If it weren't for him, my cannon would've sounded in the air. My face would've been in the sky tonight. Finn saved my life, and that's a debt I'll never be able to repay, considering that we are both in the Games. I keep reminding myself that only one person can leave this arena.

But I'll push that aside for now and just focus on surviving.

"So am I right in saying that you are camping in the beach?" Finn asks.

I explain to him how I ventured to the shore of the beach, and that's the location of where I camped out last night.

I suggested that we camp there tonight as well, to which he willingly agreed.

"I haven't been to a beach before, Ev, let alone swim."

My feet suddenly freeze in their tracks. Surely he misspoke.

"What did you say?"

"I said that I've never been swimming before."

Yes he said it. Finn has been missing out on the biggest joy in life.

"But you know how to swim, right?" He asks me.

"It's what got me a 12 in training."

Finn then looks at me with a smile, and says,

"Can you teach me?"

Finn doesn't know how to swim, and he's asking me to teach him.

"I'd love to. We can start as soon as we arrive at the beach."

Our conversation is cut short with a loud cannon, the sound that marks the end of another tribute. I wonder who it could be? We'll know tonight, if we survive that long. We'll be safe if we reach the beach soon.


	17. Lucky to still be standing

For the next few minutes, we don't say anything to each other. The fact that the cannon sounds the end of a tribute keeps on haunting us. Twenty three cannons will sound. There were 24 to begin with. 13 have sounded so far, so there are 11 tributes left. Good, I'm closer to the crown than I expected. But if I win, everyone else including Finn will have to lose. If Finn wins, then I will never go home. And if the both of us are the last ones standing? I don't think I can bear the thought. And somehow, I have to get my sapphire anchor pendant back from Emory. I'm not letting my memories of District 4 be taken away from anyone.

That reminds me... The careers are as strong as ever. They're probably looking for me, since I was able to escape their clutches. I've seen past Hunger Games, and from what I remember, almost no one has ever been able to escape the careers. Because of me, the careers now look week and dumb. They're going to want to find me now more than ever. And I guarantee that they are going to keep me alive as long as possible. And not because they want me to survive.

To brighten the mood, we start telling each other stories of life back home. I explain how I was forced to go to Career Training camps, and how I always ditched.

"...and that's why I'm standing in here today. It's a punishment for cutting career camps."

"Sorry to hear that." He replies, looking woefully at his axe.

We walk a little further until we finally exit the forest. Now it's just about a little after noon. We find ourselves on the sand of the beach. I feel my beating heart slowly calm with ease. There's this soothingness in my chest... After being held hostage and almost killed, it's good to be back in a beach, the closest thing to home.. warm, with the calm and peaceful waters up ahead.

I remember that this is Finn's first time on a beach. "Well Finn, what do you think?"

Finn doesn't say anything, but his expression says it all. On his face was a big, joyous smile. He faces towards the water, and starts dashing to it while kicking off his boots.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" He blissfully calls out to me.

I knew that he'd love the beach. "Hey, wait up!" I call up after him.

He runs towards the water as fast as a fox. When he gets a few feet away from the water, he throws his axe on the sand next to him, but when he gets inches away from the water, he suddenly screeches to a stop, frozen in his tracks with a petrified look on his face.

"Finn, what's wrong?" I say when I finally catch up to him.

He turns to me, and I see that his face is terror-stricken. "I-I don't know how to swim, a-and this water kind of scares me," He quakes.

This is what I was anticipating. I grab him by the shoulder, and say, "Don't worry. It's normal to be afraid of the water on your first swim. I was just like that when I was younger."

"Even if you were from District 4?"

"Yeah, but I learned very quickly." I say. That was true; I used to be scared to swim. But with help from someone like Tony, I was able to become as good of a swimmer as a fish. I'm sure I can rub off Tony's teachings on Finn. If Tony is watching me now, I'm sure I'll be able to make him proud by showing his teachings to someone else. However, If Finn wants to swim, I have to make sure he's in a good condition.

"Hey Finn, I think we should rest a while before we start swimming. We've been running around all day. Are you hungry?"

Finn responds with a slow nod.

"I can imagine." I say to him.

I then remembered the hole I dug earlier. I showed him the hole I dug, and my bag and two coconuts are still where I had left them. I grab one and hand it to him.

"It may take a while to break it open, though," I say to him.

Finn grows another grin on his face. "Not exactly." He says.

He lays the coconut on the ground, lifts up his axe, and forcefully brings it down, instantly splitting the coconut in half.

"Bon appetite." Finn says, while handing me a half of coconut.

Finn and I just look at each other for a minute, but then we burst out in hysterical laughter. We have a seat on the sand, and blissfully eat our coconuts.

...But I notice that his gleeful face starts to wind down.

Finn then looks at his axe. His face suddenly turns deep grim before looking at my trident. I can only see instant gloominess registered on his face. It's like he's about to start crying.

"Finn, are you okay?"

He takes a deep breath and quietly says, "I don't know... It's just that I keep on telling myself that everything is going to be okay, when I know it won't."

"Yes, it will Finn. You just have to-"

"No it _won't_ Evan!" Finn says, raising his voice. "It just won't...okay?"

Finn then stands up, clenching his fists. He was taking quick, short breaths.

I get up after him, trying to console him. "Finn, sit down, please."

After a few minutes, he finally seemed to calm down. He sat back down, ready to speak some more. "Evan... I think I'm ready to tell you about what happened at The Reaping."


	18. Let's get that pendant back

I had forgotten about the incident that happened when they picked the District 7 tributes. Finn broke down and had a meltdown that day. Now he told me everything. In District 7, all people ages 11 and up have to work cutting down trees in the wide forest. That forest is a pretty dangerous one, judging by the way Finn described it to me. It is home to many creatures, some being natural, and some being mutations. On the outside, they look pretty harmless. But if you were to touch or bother them in anyway, well, let's just say that it would be the end of you. This was what the workers had to face everyday. "We weren't to bothered by them," Finn told me. "But it would make me uncomfortable whenever I found myself face-face with a wood-jack.

"Wood-jack, Finn?"

"Wood-jack, have you ever heard of 'em? They are fairly new and common in District 7. It's basically a muttation of a woodpecker and some other creature that lived before Panem even existed. They are mechanical, so obviously they are controlled by the Capitol. If someone is caught slacking off and not doing their work, the wood-jack would call out for the other wood-jacks and they would all start attacking the poor slacker. This would alert the police and then the worker would get arrested."

With that said, I can safely say that I'm glad that I never lived in District 7.

I ask Finn to continue, which he does, while grabbing another piece of coconut.

"I was cutting down the trees one day, but then I noticed a spark on the ground near the tree I was cutting. I looked closer, and I realized that there were pieces of tinder on the ground. The heat of the sun was causing it to burn up into flames. With every second, the flame started to get bigger and bigger. Without thinking, I fled the spot. The fire started to travel up one tree, which then started at another tree. Pretty soon several trees were engulfed in flames. This caused even more trees to catch on fire, which then caused the entire forest to be in total forest fire. While this was all happening, Evan, I was running for my life. At every second, branches kept on falling right next to me. It was horrible. I was blinded by smoke, and couldn't see anything, let alone know were I was going. After what felt like hours, I was luckily able to exit the forest. I noticed that emergency crew from town came running in, trying to rescue anyone who was trapped in the forest. They came out carrying workers and tried to bring them to safety. Luckily, everyone came out alive. Once everyone was rescued, they all stood out while they tried putting out the fire. When it did finally end an hour later, it was like there never was a forest. The fire burnt away all of the trees to the ground. The powerful people of my district got a look at what the wood jacks were seeing, and they saw that the fire started right next to me. For some reason, they automatically assumed that I was the culprit."

Finn grabbed a stick nearby and started drawing random circles on the sand. When he spoke, his voice started quaking and becoming faster and lighter. He said,

"I was taken to the town courthouse, and do you know what happened? I was found _guilty_! Guilty for something I didn't even do! No one believed me! Since the first Quarter Quell was to happen soon, it was decided by the court that in order for me to pay for what they think I did, I was to be sent to be a tribute into the Hunger Games. Everybody in the District voted for me when the time came, and then I was picked! That's why I'm here!"

I couldn't really hear that last thing he said, because he started to cry again. "Come here," I said. And I gave him a reassuring bro hug. I patted him on the back, and I told him that we were going to survive this together. I know that that's not true at all, that only one person can leave this arena, but I knew that I had to make things seem positive at the moment.

He softly sobbed for quite a while, and I said reassuring things like "Let it out..." or "It's okay..." It's hard seeing him like this. It reminds me that if he wins and makes it back home, that means that I won't be able to go home again, and vice-versa. I just hope that we aren't the last two standing.

Finally he calmed down. To push aside the fear, I tell him that it was still early, and that I could give him a swim lesson. He agreed, so we prepare and go down to the shore. The sun, (or whatever that light is) was at its setting mode. There were no clouds, so it looked particularly beautiful, reminding me of the beach back home in 4. Unfortunately, the beauty wasn't enough to take away my fear. I try not to express this as he takes his first steps into the water. He's quaking, so he grabs onto my shoulder for support. Taking more steps, his eyes lock onto the water, as it reaches his knees. With every passing second he grabs tighter and tighter onto my shoulder. Pretty soon the water is up to our chest level. This is exactly how Tony first taught me how to swim. I hope he's watching me now. The only way that could make this really feel like home is if I had Tony's sapphire anchor pendant. Who knows what Emory is doing with it right now? But mark my words, I'll get that pendant back if it's the last thing I do. If I don't survive these games but have the pendant with me, at least it will go back home to Tony.

Pretty soon Finn gets comfortable being in the water at chest level. Though it's too soon to start teaching strokes, it's not like I have a lot of time, anyway. I honestly keep on forgetting that I'm in the Hunger Games. I keep on thinking that I'm back home in 4. I teach him the basics; the freestyle, the butterfly and the breaststroke. Pretty soon he gets the hang of it. To this day I'm still proud of him. He's a quick learner. Throughout the swimming lessons I hear two more cannons. that's three today.

After a while we both start to get drowsy. It's hard to believe that it's already night. It's actually pretty dark, I guess because there is no moon. We swim back to shore. We have no towel, so we just naturally dry off. "Evan, thanks for the swimming lesson," says Finn. "It's something that I've been wanting to learn all my life."

"No need to thank me," I tell him, smiling. "I've always wanted to give Tony's teachings to somebody else."

When we are dry, we change into back into our tribute clothing. The hole I dug earlier has one more half-coconut, an empty canteen and a small bag. My golden trident lays next to Finn's axe. I know that we can't stay here longer. We need to find fresh water and find food fast. "I promise you, Evan," says Finn with a smirk. "Tomorrow we will go into that forest and we will get your sapphire anchor back!"

The feeling of having a friend who will always be there to make you smile is quite pleasant. I reach out and pat Finn on the shoulder. "Everything will be fine fine, Finn. I'm sure it will."

I stretch out my blanket, and it's fortunately large enough to hold two people on it.

When we lay down and just when we look up into the sky, the anthem starts playing. The following faces are shown.

Female from 10,

Male from 11,

Female from 12.

The last musical notes of the anthem fade out and Finn, already nearly asleep, mutters, "15 gone. 9 remaining." As Finn starts snoring, I try to mentally list who are still in these games. Cedric, Emory, Crystal, Emerald, and Zelda. The careers are still alive. There's me, Finn, Wendy (District 7 female), and the male from 8.

I need to get some sleep. Who knows what's going to happen tomorrow?


End file.
